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Post by rf1 on Nov 13, 2023 16:54:44 GMT -5
Larry is one of ten owners of the WooSox. He close to 80 and ready to step aside. Shoddy reporting by the Boston press has blown this way out of proportion. This is a non-story.
Isn't he however the principal owner with biggest ownership stake?
The same could be said about the parent Boston Red Sox having many owners but John Henry by far has the biggest share followed by Tom Werner. The rest are mostly minority owners with no big say in matters.
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Post by rf1 on Nov 12, 2023 15:08:25 GMT -5
My good buddy from Providence College and I were talking yesterday about just what will happen when Cooley returns to Providence to face the Friars. I believe it will get obscene and ugly
You can bet on it. Some of the PC fans are the nastiest around. Beers and sex toys have been thrown onto the court during games. Player's family have come onto the court from their seats during play. Many Friar fans have for months been slandering Cooley on social media. They want blood. It is certain to get very ugly.
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Post by rf1 on Nov 12, 2023 13:50:54 GMT -5
Nice win. I love seeing both Cooley and Georgetown lose.
I am old enough to remember watching Georgetown actually visit the Hart Center some 40+ years ago. The game was televised on Channel 27.
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Post by rf1 on Nov 10, 2023 17:08:19 GMT -5
Worcester never had a Boston affiliated franchise. Has any non-Boston affiliated franchise ever survived in Rhode Island? Hope the Pirates succeed in Lowell, they need a smaller venue with cheaper rent. Wish them the best. Rangers were in Providence from 1926-1972...is that long enough? Better known as the RI Reds
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Post by rf1 on Nov 10, 2023 13:30:07 GMT -5
Looks like Larry is following the classic sell when the value is highest before it is expected drop.
Larry Lucchino is looking to sell Worcester Red Sox
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Post by rf1 on Nov 10, 2023 12:39:09 GMT -5
The Massachusetts Pirates have announced that they will be leaving Worcester and relocating to Lowell. The indoor football team had played its home games at the DCU Center since 2018. The moves follows a well worn pattern for professional sports teams in the city. Many local teams have in the past initially started out well but the shine quickly wears off with attendance and interest declining with each continuing season.
Mass. Pirates football team leaving Worcester for Lowell
The WooSox attendance went up by 180 per game average from 2022 to 2023.
Which was still some 2,000 less than the average attendance during best years in Pawtucket when the team played in a then 60 year old venue. The PawSox had a 50 year run in Pawtucket and the P-Bruins have been in Providence for over 30 years. Has a Worcester team ever had a tenure approaching either of them? The reality is no professional team has ever made Worcester its home for an extended long period of time.
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Post by rf1 on Nov 10, 2023 11:11:30 GMT -5
The Massachusetts Pirates have announced that they will be leaving Worcester and relocating to Lowell. The indoor football team had played its home games at the DCU Center since 2018. The move follows a well worn pattern for professional sports teams in the city. Many local teams have in the past initially started out well but the shine quickly wears off with attendance and interest declining with each continuing season.
Mass. Pirates football team leaving Worcester for Lowell
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Post by rf1 on Nov 10, 2023 11:02:24 GMT -5
I thought Ed Cooley never wanted to play Holy Cross?
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Post by rf1 on Nov 8, 2023 12:54:45 GMT -5
Brown seems to know how to open a new Performing Arts Center. They had an event that featured the Brown University Orchestra, the Brown University Chorus, members of the Providence Singers, solo vocalists and violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. Their Lindemann Performing Arts Center is a 101,000sf facility (much of it below grade) that includes multiple performance spaces with its main space being able to be adapted to varying sizes and configurations. www.brown.edu/news/2023-10-20/lindemann-opening
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Post by rf1 on Nov 2, 2023 14:18:22 GMT -5
I actually went to the Ryan Center for the first time last night. A former player of mine, Cooper Creek, plays for Assumption. It's a really nice facility, would like to see another game there with a packed house. Drove by Meade which also looked good....looking forward to making the drive ovah the Newport Bridge again next Fall to our Saders play there. You might have to wait some time for a packed house at the Ryan Center. The program is presently in a down cycle. Some of the best atmosphere games are those against Providence College every other year. Rhody however plays PC in Providence this year and does not host again until 2024 (the game is typically always the first Saturday in December). The place can get really loud when there are big crowds given it is built in a more vertical manner with all the seats close to the court. URI has averaged 5,118 over the 20 seasons the 7,657 seat venue has been open. As per the typical norm, higher attendance typically comes when the team and or opponent is good.
A past PC game:
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Post by rf1 on Nov 2, 2023 12:32:38 GMT -5
To give you more perspective on why there is no chance that URI will go FBS, consider the fact that it is the ONLY New England state flagship that does not sponsor a varsity hockey program. The other five flagships all have D1 varsity programs that compete in Hockey East. URI fields men's and women's club teams that make their home at the on campus 2,500 bleacher seat Boss Arena.
If URI cannot support a D1 hockey program in a region where the sport is popular at many levels, how then could it support a FBS program in a region where college football (and levels beneath it) has less interest than other parts of the country.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 31, 2023 15:00:07 GMT -5
There is zero chance that URI will be upgrading to FBS.
These much needed upgrades will only bring facilities closer to typical FCS standards.
URI operates most sports on a shoestring budget and has long had many neglected sports venues. The school's operation has always been cash strapped. It is one of the least supported state flagship universities (across all aspects) in the US. To counter this, it very actively tries to recruit a high number of out of state students (MA/CT/NY/NJ) as it can charge higher tuition rates. It is only just a bit over 50% of its enrollment from within RI which is very atypical for a state flagship school (UMass and UConn are over 72% in state).
Meade Stadium has been deficient for decades. Due to structural and fire egress issues, the upper sections of the east stands were covered over in recent years reducing capacity. These stands have failed inspections in the past and required continuing work before being allowed to be used many seasons. The upper sections were just reopened as additional new stairways were added to address inadequate egress.
The outdoor track was condemned decades ago and hasn't been used since then. The school does however have a very nice indoor track facility.
The 20 year old Boss Ice Arena was just recently shut down in August as the ice making system completely failed and needed a total overhaul. The club team had to practice and play all around the state having to go so far as Pawtucket. They are hoping to get it back open on November 6th after several delays.
The only sport that URI, the state, and its alumni/fans have financially supported at a decent level is men's basketball. It however took an Elite-8 and alumnus governor to get the state to support the building of the 7,657 seat Ryan Center which opened back in 2002. Even then, the state only really contributed about 1/3 toward the $54M cost of construction. The state backed and floated bonds for another 1/3 which was required to be paid off by venue revenues and student fees which is still ongoing. The other 1/3 cost was private donations. URI did not have a separate dedicated practice space until just the beginning of this season. It was at a disadvantage not having one as all the high profile schools along with much of the A-10 already had such facilities. It was one of the items Dan Hurley had really wanted before going to UConn. It took six more years after Hurley's departure and some $8M, all in private donations, to carve out and renovate existing space in a building attached to the Ryan Center to create the new Soloviev Family Basketball Practice Facility.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 27, 2023 16:31:02 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Oct 23, 2023 13:14:15 GMT -5
Wow! That’s a LOT of Catholic schools!😊
Only Rider, Quinnipiac, and Marist will not be Catholic schools. Marist was however initially founded as a Catholic institution and remained that up until 2003. The MAAC has basically branded itself as the a lower level version of the Big East. Too bad the D3 Little East already has the rights to that name.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 9, 2023 12:22:33 GMT -5
It gets uglier by the day. An update from Trilly Donovan who brings up the mental health of Grasso. Claims an official says it is unlikely he will ever coach another game at Bryant. The Latest on Jared Grassoburnerball.com/the-latest-on-jared-grasso/
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Post by rf1 on Oct 8, 2023 8:30:52 GMT -5
Things are getting even worse for Grasso with an unrelated arrest for an incident that occurred AFTER he was suspended: Bryant's Grasso due in court after arrest by North Smithfield police
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Post by rf1 on Oct 6, 2023 8:55:33 GMT -5
Our Lasy of the Elms--wow. I believe the school has won 8 total games in the past three seasons. The two tallest players are 6-5 and 6-6. This is not good---maybe a FHCBN arranged game? I think we're trying to corner the market on opponents that were once all-women's colleges. Regis, Colby-Sawyer, now Elms. Several others to be played! Got to get Wheaton and Vassar on the schedule.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 1, 2023 14:48:12 GMT -5
It would seem to me that WooSox attendance may have reached its peak and possibly plateaued at a level some 2k less per game than its best years in Pawtucket. Typically a new ballpark experiences its best attendance in the immediate years after its opening. Covid impacted Year 1 at Polar Park so that is not a great barometer. The fact that attendance was basically the same in years two and three however provide a better measuring stick. While the per game average did see a slight uptick in 2023, it has to be troubling to WooSox ownership that there apparently were a lot more paid tickets with no shows this past season. That is not a good sign for attendance growth. It will be interesting to see if this level of support can be continued going forward with the novelty of a new team and park fading. Many franchises sometimes see a noticeable decline after a few years. Will that happen in Worcester?
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Post by rf1 on Oct 1, 2023 14:29:48 GMT -5
HC may need to locate $18 million for something else before that happens. Some Prior commitment?
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Post by rf1 on Oct 1, 2023 9:37:11 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Sept 30, 2023 15:39:44 GMT -5
2023 season attendance numbers for the MLB affiliated minors have been released. The self reported figures for the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park show little change from the prior 2022 season numbers. Overall attendance was down 519,661 versus 532,152 but that was due to three less home games. The reported average attendance slightly rose to 7,424 from the previous year's 7,290. Worcester once again finished fifth in AAA and 6th overall. All the teams ahead of them however saw significant attendance growth. It should also be noted that there was much discussion earlier this season regarding the attendance numbers that the WooSox were reporting. It was generally thought that actual attendance this season was noticeably less than reported paid attendance compared to the preceding year. Thus far in three seasons at Polar Park, the WooSox have come no where near the attendance that was reported by the franchise during its peak at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. The team averaged over 9,000 six times in the period from 2001 to 2008. WooSox drop slightly in total attendance rankings amid rainy 2023 seasonwww.wbjournal.com/article/woosox-drop-slightly-in-total-attendance-rankings-amid-rainy-2023-season
AAA Red Sox Attendance since 2000 Year | # Of Openings | Attendance | Average Attendance | Home | Principal Owner 2000 | 67 | 585,107 | 8,733 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2001 | 70 | 647,928 | 9,256 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2002 | 68 | 615,540 | 9,052 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2003 | 67 | 550,157 | 8,211 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2004 | 70 | 657,067 | 9,387 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2005 | 72 | 688,421 | 9,561 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2006 | 66 | 613,065 | 9,289 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2007 | 69 | 611,379 | 8,861 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2008 | 70 | 636,788 | 9,097 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2009 | 70 | 625,561 | 8,937 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2010 | 71 | 592,326 | 8,343 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2011 | 70 | 578,930 | 8,270 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2012 | 69 | 521,023 | 7,551 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2013 | 69 | 540,034 | 7,827 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2014 | 70 | 515,665 | 7,367 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2015 | 71 | 466,600 | 6,572 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2016 | 67 | 407,097 | 6,076 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2017 | 64 | 409,960 | 6,406 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2018 | 66 | 394,811 | 5,982 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2019 | 63 | 331,010 | 5,254 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2020 | --- | --- | --- | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2021 | 59 | 362,559 | 6,145 | Worcester | Larry Lucchino 2022 | 73 | 532,152 | 7,290 | Worcester | Larry Lucchino 2023 | 70 | 519,651 | 7,424 | Worcester | Larry Lucchino
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Post by rf1 on Sept 27, 2023 10:59:01 GMT -5
Don't look for the Crusaders Football game at Polar Park to end any time soon. The stadium has come no where near hosting the number of non baseball events that were originally promised. Back in 2018, the venue was projected per the city's own website to host upward of 60 non baseball events that were to include "large-scale" events/concerts, road races, collegiate/high school sporting events, fireworks and other community events. This projection has since been removed from the site and to my knowledge, there is still yet to be a large concert held there. High school graduations and football games seem to be the most common events that have been held there. The annual Holy Cross football game is very likely the most attended non baseball event at Polar Park each year by quite a large margin.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 19, 2023 12:41:28 GMT -5
How the Worcester National Universities ranked:
#82 WPI (previously #67) #142 Clark (previously #97)
The new tweaks to the USNWR formula did not help either local school. This was especially true for Clark as it declined by 45 spots. Many national public universities however saw improvement with the change.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 7, 2023 9:45:46 GMT -5
Hate to tell you that many of the Rhode Islanders I know think just as I do. I was not the only one conveying those sentiments to the WooSox employee on Sunday. I think WooSox ownership understands this and their absence for the final event at McCoy, the team's home for 50 years, was further confirmation. You might want to expand your horizons to get a true feel of Rhode Island natives.
I already DO have a true feel of my fellow Rhode Island natives.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 7, 2023 9:04:38 GMT -5
I was at the Final Inning event held this past Sunday at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket to celebrate the old park before it is demolished to make way for a new high school. They had many food trucks, kid activities, and photo ops. The playing field surface of the stadium was opened to the public (the stadium seating area was not) with the night being capped off by a fireworks display akin to the former traditional past July 3rd shows. The event was in fact first originally scheduled to happen earlier on July 3rd but was postponed due to weather concerns. The WooSox sent the two former PawSox mascots to the park for photo-ops. I jokingly asked the other WooSox staff member that accompanied them if Larry Luchinno was coming down. He laughed and said no and I indicated that was wise as he was not wanted there. This college aged staff member then asked if I had been up to Polar Park to see a game. I informed him that I, like many others from RI, will never step foot in that stadium.Hate to tell you that many of our neighbors to the south have not followed this threat. Hate to tell you that many of the Rhode Islanders I know think just as I do. I was not the only one conveying those sentiments to the WooSox employee on Sunday. I think WooSox ownership understands this and their absence for the final event at McCoy, the team's home for 50 years, was further confirmation.
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